Chapter 22Rio was intoxicating, more so than the Budweiser my father had let me sneak with Mathias at our going-away-to-Cloverton party or the four I had needed to perform karaoke in front of an audience one time while there. As I finally set foot in the country I’d been focusing on for years, I found myself thinking a lot about the past and what it took to get me there, the hard work, the support, the people.
Despite what the locals called the current season south of the equator, the humidity washed over me like a warm, moist kiss as I finally stepped through the sliding airport doors. I’d have to wait a bit longer for more of the real kind. Though I had landed in Brazil the day before the opening ceremonies, Mathias wouldn’t arrive until the morning of. All the money in the world couldn
